ABOUT CHILDREN'S

Program Improvement Plan

Children's Administration formed a Program Improvement Plan team to develop a Program Improvement Plan. The team is comprised of 10 workgroups, broken out into areas of focus (e.g. safety, permanency, well-being, etc.). There were over 180 participants in the workgroups, which included Children's Administration staff, Tribal representatives, community partners, private and other public agencies and stakeholders.

The Draft Program Improvement Plan was submitted to Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). for review and the final plan will be negotiated between the State and DHHS with an expected completion date of September 2004.

The state will be reviewed again in two years to examine the state's performance and progress with its improvement plan. There are financial penalties for states that do not show improvement during this two year period. Washington could have an initial deferred penalty of $1.5 million.

The Program Improvement Plan is incorporated into a plan, Kids Come First Phase II Comprehensive Reform Plan, which encompasses all the major improvement efforts underway in Children's Administration. The plan encompasses the following:

• Program Improvement Plan - This plan addresses the areas where improvement is needed as identified by the Child and Family Services Review.
• Accreditation - Children's Administration has made a commitment to achieve accreditation status through the Council on Accreditation (COA). To achieve accreditation status, Children's Administration must demonstrate that it meets over 700 established standards in the administration and practice of child protection/child welfare services.
• Strategic Plan - The Children's Administration developed this plan as a foundation for the direction of the agency and to provide a unifying vision to organize the efforts of over 2,000 employees in better serving children and families.
• Case Review - The Case Review Program assists Children's Administration staff to deliver the highest standard of services possible to children and families and review case documentation for compliance in the area of health and safety.